Express-Scripts plans $56 million expansion and 1,500 new jobs over five years

St. Louis is headed to the top ten in college attainment.

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A pillar of our economic development strategy is that, “We will win on today’s regional strengths in focused economic clusters. Explore in detail the four sectors that we believe will shape our region’s future.

“The Banker” … from Central Park West to Washington Avenue

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We’ve condensed a detailed three-year plan into a single paragraph we call our Strategy Statement. It’s all about priorities and direction.

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Our research team has probably answered almost any question that could be asked regarding the St. Louis region. If you can't find it in our Regional Data section, please send a note to Tim Alexander at talexander@stlregionalchamber.com.

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Inner City Capital Connections Program has come to St. Louis. To date, this program has helped 837 different businesses raise over $1.32 billion in capital and create over 11,000 jobs in the inner city. Read more about the program on our blog.

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We believe nothing is more important in St. Louis than achieving Top 10 status in college attainment among the nation's largest metros. Visit www.topteneducation.org to follow our progress.

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If your company represents growth potential for the region -- or you know of other companies that do -- we'd be pleased to help however we can. Please contact Jim Alexander at jalexander@stlregionalchamber.com

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St. Louis is home to 16 Fortune 1000 companies and some of the largest private firms in the U.S.; but don't overlook the ever increasing number of high growth small-to-medium enterprises and startups. Click here for a quick summary.

Making Access Missouri Truly Accessible

by
Greg Laposa
| Apr 24, 2018

Building a quality talent base is the critical path forward for regional and statewide economic development. In today’s competitive and global economy, much of that quality talent base requires a post-secondary education. We have been pleased to see a number of state leaders challenge the proposed higher education cuts in Gov. Greitens’ proposed budget. In particular, we applaud Rep. Scott Fitzpatrick’s leadership in proposing a budget allocating an additional $37.6 million to our higher education institutions while proposing a $30 million dollar increase to our state’s only need-based scholarship program, Access Missouri. The proposed increase to Access Missouri is the right investment for our state at this crucial time in higher education.

As college education costs continue to soar, aid available to support students with the greatest financial needs has declined. The St. Louis Regional Chamber’s education strategy—best captured in the St. Louis Regional Education Commitment— calls for increasing need-based aid. Expanding the funds in Access Missouri by $30 million will help more students, particularly those with significant unmet need, pursue a post-secondary education.

National research affirms the high impact of even small amounts of need-based aid in increasing educational attainment levels. According to a report by the National Bureau of Economic Research, students who receive need-based grants are more likely to enroll and successfully complete college at a faster rate than their socioeconomic peers. For students with the greatest need, financial aid is critical to their ability to successfully cross the finish line with their degree in hand.

With such a large increase to Access Missouri, we expect a larger aggregate shift in the number of people graduating with the kind of credentials that make Missouri attractive to business. These credentials also provide greater levels of earnings for individuals, thus leading to a greater tax base and more consumption of goods and services.

After years of being underfunded and failing to keep up with the need, Rep. Fitzpatrick’s proposal is a positive step in the right direction. We hope that additional funding for Access Missouri will ensure that the average award for students increases above the current average of $1,600. We call upon his colleagues in the General Assembly to support funding that will lay a stronger foundation for building the talent base Missouri needs to compete for jobs now and in the future.